Dexter Oliver was charged Thursday with attempted murder and arson in an attack that burned 25-year-old Starr Lamare in San Francisco's Bayview District.

Photo: Courtesy SFPD

Dexter Oliver was charged Thursday with attempted murder and arson...

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San Francisco police enter the home of a woman who was set on fire Sunday, Jan. 6, 2013, in San Francisco. San Francisco police say a woman is hospitalized with what are being described as "life-threatening injuries" after someone poured a flammable liquid on her and set her on fire. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

(01-11) 09:36 PST SAN FRANCISCO -- A woman who was allegedly set on fire by her boyfriend faces months of painful recovery, but her younger sister says the mother of three has a strong spirit and will not be broken.

"She's trying to sit up," said Craig, 24. "She's a little agitated because she doesn't like to sit still for that long."

Prosecutors say Oliver attacked Lamare during an argument that began over his refusal to help her carry clothes to a coin-operated laundry in the Bayview district.

Investigators believe Oliver filled two empty bottles of baby food with gasoline, threw them at Lamare and set her ablaze. Police responding to reports of a woman screaming found Lamare in the street at Hollister Avenue and Jennings Street, suffering from life-threatening burns to her face and upper body.

Oliver was arrested Monday night at a hotel in Oakland. On Thursday, he pleaded not guilty in San Francisco Superior Court.

Oliver has three previous convictions related to domestic violence involving two women, prosecutors said. He is not eligible for pretrial release because he allegedly violated probation stemming from those convictions.

Lamare and Oliver had been dating for six months but had known each other for eight years, Craig said. She said her sister had complained to her that Oliver was domineering and wanted to control her.

"He didn't like her to be gone for very long, and he didn't like her to dress a certain way," Craig said. "He didn't like her to be with family, which was hard for her because she's so outgoing."

Craig said Lamare had tried to break up with Oliver after an earlier instance of physical abuse, but "he talked his way back in."